The Hardest Goodbye
by Kathangel
Summary: It seems hard for Prue Halliwell to say goodbye to someone whom she loves so much. This fanfic encourages the idea that love goes beyond all reason and logic.


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In the first season, a man named Andy broke Prue's heart when he died. How hard was it for her to say goodbye? Well, check out my fanfic and find out. Enjoy the read people. 

Love always, Kathangel

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THE HARDEST GOODBYE

"I can't see you, but I know you're there." Prue Halliwell said aloud, staring at the darkness. It has been two and a half-hours now that she laid on her bed, completely awake. 

There it was again, the woodsy scent that filled her very room . . . That hypnotic smell that she missed so much. The California winds blew softly on the white curtains of her window, causing it make graceful waves under the shine of the moonlight. Prue hugged her pillow close, feeling the sudden chill that tickled her skin.

As quickly as the chill enveloped her, it soon when away. Prue found her eyelids getting heavier and it wasn't very long after that that she was at the verge of falling asleep. She began to feel warm, and she knew at that time where she was . . . In his arms.

She loved the feeling, and wallowed in it. "I've missed you," She confessed, "where have you been?"

As always, silence. Instead of responding in words, he began to plant soft, butterfly kisses on her neck, her shoulder, and that tender spot behind her ear. He ran his nose through her vanilla-scented hair and she simply snuggled closer to him.

This is what Pure looked forward to every night: His presence around her, the safety of his embrace. Lately, he hasn't been visiting. During the nights that he doesn't come, she is left with a void feeling in her heart. In her solitary wait, she yearns for his caresses to soothe her worries and fears. Now that she's back in his arms, she never wanted it to end. 

Prue's breath became longer, and soon, she was asleep. The windows of her room slowly began to close, leaving the evil outside of her domain. For now, she was safe. 

******************************************************************************

It wasn't until Prue heard Piper's call for breakfast that morning when she got up. She had been awake for half an hour now, reminiscing the feel of her lover's arms around her from the night before.

"I need to shower it off," Prue muttered to herself, feeling the warmth inside of her for wanting to feel his solid body beside hers again. She set aside the sexy thoughts that reeled in her mind and got ready for work. Then, she had to face her sisters.

"Good morning, Prue." Piper and Phoebe chimed in unison. As usual, they had been in a whispered conversation before she came in and the topic was once again out of Prue's knowledge.

"You guys need to stop doing that." Prue told her sisters.

Piper and Phoebe simply looked at her with the innocent look they have mastered since they were kids.

"Whatever are you talking about, Prue?" Phoebe asked, using her fake British accent she picked up in her New York acting classes. Piper turned her head away, choking in her giggle.

"That," Prue pointed out, "F.Y.I., my sisters, I am not dumb. Whatever you want to discuss, especially if it's about me, then I want to know."

Piper settled the glass of juice in front of her. "Relax, honey. It's nothing. We're just wondering . . ." She looked at Phoebe for help but the youngest Halliwell just drank her coffee.

"Wondering what?" Prue prodded.

"We're wondering who was it that you were talking to last night." Phoebe finished for Piper.

Prue could feel her cheeks burn. Her irritation subsided, and what took over was fear. She couldn't tell her sisters what was going on, not yet anyway. The morning news was on, and the voice of the puffy-haired newscaster was the only thing that reverberated in the house.

"You won't tell us, huh?" Phoebe's right eyebrow shot up. "For the past few weeks, there would be nights when Piper and I would hear your muffled voice, talking to somebody in the middle of the night. There is never a response, mind you, and you never say the person's name."

Prue was dead silent. She grabbed her juice and took a huge gulp. Sweet, citric taste traveled down her throat, cooling her nerves. She turned her back to them, pondering on whether to tell her sisters or not.

"Who is it Prue?" Piper asked, "You know you can tell us, right?"

The eldest Halliwell sister simply looked away, not wanting to tell her sisters. They will never understand, Prue thought, I know they won't.

"See, Piper." Phoebe stood up and walked over to the fridge, "She wasn't sleep talking all those nights. She knows what we're talking about! And for some reason, she won't tell us. Why? No one knows, and if you want to know what I think---"

"Phoebe!" Piper silenced her, "She's going to tell us, don't worry. . . Right Prue?"

Just as when Piper reached out to touch her, Prue jumped to her feet, knocking down the glass of juice.

"I have to go . . ." She stammered. With that, she swiped her bag from the dining chair and headed quickly to the door. She didn't get there, though. Phoebe stood in front of her.

"Piper, call Buckland and tell them that Prue won't be in today because she's not feeling well."

Piper scrambled for the phone.

Prue's left eyebrow shot up. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Helping you, my darling sister." Phoebe flashed her a cocky grin.

"I don't need your help."

"You don't think you do, but I know you better."

"Get . . . Out . . . Of . . .My . . . Way . . ." Prue warned her.

Piper spoke up. "Okay! Prue, you have the whole day off! And, we are going to use it to our benefit. We will spend the whole entire day together----just us Halliwell sisters . . ."

Tension filled the room, as usual Piper's nervous bantering was the only thing heard. She always tried to put things at ease between her sisters, especially when they are sharing an intense moment like this one. "After cooking, we'll try out the facials from the salon," Piper continued, "Then maybe we can all talk. You know, quality conversations that---"

"Let's save it for another day, okay guys?" Prue dismissed the idea. She was about to push past Phoebe when her sister reached out to touch her arm. At the contact, Phoebe's eyes rolled up and her whole body shook, as if electrified by an unknown force. Prue and Piper quickly caught their youngest sister before her knees gave out on her, sitting her down on the dining chair.

Phoebe was trying to catch her breath. "I {sigh} saw you Prue . . ."

"What happened, sweetie?" Piper rubbed her sister's back.

"You had tears in your eyes," Phoebe looked directly to Prue, "looked like you've been crying for a while."

"Do you know why? Was anybody there?" Prue's curiosity rose.

"Yes, somebody was there."

"WHO?!" Prue and Piper said in unison.

"Andy."

******************************************************************************

"So it's been Andy all along." Piper concluded after listening intently to Prue's stories of the mysterious presence that visits her in the midst of the night. "Those nights when we hear whispers and sighs, it was you being comforted by him."

The Halliwell sisters sat in the living room, the most comfortable part of their house. There, they have discussed countless of strategies to fight off the demons, this time, it was a more personal discussion.

Phoebe sat at the end of the long loveseat couch. "And here we thought you were only sobbing quietly. How long has this been going on?"

"It was exactly forty days after his death that he first visited me," Prue explained, "It was my dream, though. He began feeling more real after that. Each night of his presence around me made me emotionally stronger. All he had to do was envelop me with his aura, and I feel like all the evil I've come in contact with that day is washed away. I have never felt anything like it. I look forward feeling him, and when I enter my sleep, that's when he tells me I have done a good job. That's when we . . ." She couldn't finish.

Piper and Phoebe automatically went into comfort mode, wrapping their arms around the eldest Halliwell sister who was hurting inside.

"I never wanted to be a witch . . ."

"Prue, we are the Charmed ones, not the doomed ones." Phoebe reminded her, "What we have is an instrument of good."

"Andy died because of me----"

Piper corrected her. "No, Andy died protecting you, not because of you."

Prue looked up at her sisters. "I love him so much."

Piper and Phoebe shared a helpless look, as if pleading for the other to come up with a means of comforting Prue. 

"Honey, we know you do." Phoebe wiped her sister's tears away, "The hurt will go away in due time."

They stayed in each other's arms for several seconds when Phoebe sensed something. She pulled away, hoping to pin point what it is.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"Look." Phoebe pointed at the mirror that hung above the fireplace. There, the red lipstick hovered in front of it. Slowly, it began to write out the words:

DRY YOUR EYES PRUE

Piper gasped and clutched on the back of the couch. Phoebe stepped back to sit down, amazed at the red letters before her eyes. Prue, eyes wide and stained with tears, stood up and walked towards the mirror as if hypnotized by it. The red lipstick continued to move.

I DON'T LIKE SEEING YOU CRY

Prue could only smile.

The lipstick dropped to the floor and rolled away. Moments of silence and stillness occupied the room. _Do something!_ Piper mouthed to Phoebe. She nodded, and dashed upstairs to the attic to get the illustrious Book of Shadows.

"Prue," Piper began.

"He's watching over us," Prue interrupted her sister, "like he always does."

Phoebe entered the room again, Book of Shadows in her arms and out of breath. "Let's see what we can do about this."

"Do about what?" Prue inquired a little too harshly, "Andy's not an evil warlock we have to vanquish, therefore we don't have to do anything!"

Piper knew what Phoebe meant. "We're not saying we have to vanquish him, Prue."

Phoebe placed the book down. "Andy is like a brother us, and we love him, too. We just have a lot of questions and there is something very unsettling about this."

Prue glared at her. "What is so 'unsettling' about this? The fact he's watching over us and protecting us like he's always done when he was still alive? What? Tell me!"

"Prue, calm down." Piper reached out.

Phoebe gathered her thoughts and spoke again. "Prue, remember that time when we helped that man from Chinatown? The ghost who lingered around on earth looking for help?" When Prue and Piper slightly nodded, she continued. "Well, there was an unfinished business concerning him, and so he stuck around here on earth, when he truly belonged to the other side because his mortal body was dead. Maybe Andy needs our help."

"But he hasn't mentioned anything, right Prue?" Piper turned to her sister.

Prue thought for a moment. "No, he hasn't. But it's not like there was somebody after him to take him to hell."

"And maybe he's enjoying your company, Prue." Phoebe suggested. "He loves you as intensely as you do him. It's hard for him to leave."

Piper agreed, but Prue stepped back. "I am not going to ask him to leave, not when---" Tears began to swell her eyes, but she fought it. "Not when he doesn't want to."  
The Halliwell sisters pondered about it for a moment, hoping an idea would dawn on them. Prue was determined to enforce her decision, not wanting to take part on letting Andy leave her, not again.

Phoebe flipped through the pages of the Book of Shadows, and stopped halfway through. "We can use this spell to speak to Andy, to be able to go to the existing realm where spirits like him frolic. The thing is, only one of us can go."

Piper hasn't said much this whole time, but as the voice of reason, she knew she had to talk some sense into her sister. "Prue," She began, "Andy belongs to the other side, not here on earth. We won't force you to do anything you are against, but you have to make a decision."

Prue saw the logic her sisters presented to her, but for some reason, she couldn't quite accept it.

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Phoebe placed the Book of Shadows in front of her, feeling the worst kind of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She saw the grieving expression on her sister's face and she sought for Piper to say the most reassuring thing so that it would go away. Unfortunately, Piper didn't feel any better.

"Let's just get this over with." Prue said, staring at the flickering black candle in the middle of the attic. Around it were dried rose petals from Andy's funeral that were crushed, and his old cowboy hat from when he was eight years old.

"Honey, you can do it!" Piper reached out to hug her.

Phoebe joined for a group hug, and when they parted, she gave Prue the final instructions.

"Piper and I will say an awareness spell that can link our thoughts," She explained, "so that if you ever run into any trouble whatsoever, just call on us."

"We can't be there, but we can talk to you in our minds." Piper added, "If you want us to conjure you back to earth again, just holler and we'll do."

Prue could only nod.

"Let's go." Phoebe exhaled.

Prue closed her eyes, and softly, she chanted the words:

_"That realm above me that doth exist,_

with wandering souls hiding in thy midst;

'Ere my inquiring should shall go, 

to seek another in high or low."

Moments later, Prue's body felt heavy. She fell to the floor with a loud thud, her eyes, slowly rolling back behind her eyelids. Piper and Phoebe's chanting of the awareness spell became faint, and what followed after was darkness.

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The smell of lilac entered her nostrils, causing her eyes to open. Prue Halliwell saw the mist around her, hiding whatever land or earth underneath her. A familiar swing hung from an even more familiar tree, and a silhouette of a man sat patiently on it. It was the swing from their childhood.

"I know why you're here." The man said, not bothering to move.

Prue's heart skipped a beat. She got up and sat beside the man, seeing the handsome face she hasn't seen in a very long time. She only felt his presence before, but now everything seems so real.

"I don't want to, but I think I should." She told him.

"Then don't." He pleaded, "Don't say goodbye, Prue."

Prue didn't want to cry anymore. However, the pain of saying one simple word of farewell to Andy seemed to hurt her more than anything. Tears couldn't help but fall.

"I hate seeing you cry." Andy held her.

"Well, I hate that you won't be around," Prue loved being in his arms, "but my sisters are right, Andy. You have to go. It will hurt even more if we keep this up."

Andy heard the logic in her tone of voice. But in her eyes, he saw the deep sadness that he too, was feeling. He could only hope that she didn't mean it.

He lifter her onto his lap. "I understand."

"I hate this," Prue slumped against him, "I just want to stay here with you forever."

The mist slowly cleared, and when Prue blinked, a sunset suddenly appeared. The orange sun was retiring behind the majestic snow-capped mountains, and although it seemed very windy from where they were, Prue didn't feel an ounce of chill.

"It's beautiful." Prue snuggled closer to him.

"You're beautiful," Andy's embrace became tighter, "as much as things are hard for both of us right now, I wouldn't have changed anything in my life. When they asked me to cross the line, I was ready to. But I couldn't stay away. Not when I love you this much."

Prue's heart felt like it was ripping in two. "You'll be forever in my heart."

"And you will always be in mine." Andy's eyes glazed with tears.

Prue's head descended, and their lips met in a touching kiss. At this point, the sun was almost behind the mountains. She didn't know when it happened, but darkness soon took over.

******************************************************************************

"Prue . . ." Piper called out, "Sweetie please wake up."

Phoebe took her head onto her lap. "Prue, open your eyes."

Prue did, and saw her sister's faces hovering above her.

"Is everything okay?" Phoebe asked.

Prue nodded, and got up from Phoebe's lap.  
"What happened?" Piper's eyes were filled with concern.

"I said goodbye."

*******THE END********


End file.
